


Brother

by AzrielWinchester, Lyrro



Series: Detroit Become Human: Trials and Tribulations After the Revolution [2]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Colorblind Gavin Reed, Cussing, Elijah Kamski & Gavin Reed are Siblings, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gavin Reed Backstory, Gavin Reed Needs a Hug, Gavin Reed with Synesthesia, Gavin Reed-centric, Gay Disaster Gavin Reed, Gen, Good Elijah Kamski, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Original Chloe | RT600/Elijah Kamski, Soft Elijah Kamski
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:00:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25001296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AzrielWinchester/pseuds/AzrielWinchester, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyrro/pseuds/Lyrro
Summary: Elijah and Gavin talk for the first time since Gavin ran away from home.
Relationships: Original Chloe | RT600/Elijah Kamski
Series: Detroit Become Human: Trials and Tribulations After the Revolution [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1774963
Comments: 1
Kudos: 26





	Brother

Elijah moved about his now empty dining room slowly, the funeral had been exhausting. He'd loved his stepmother, but he'd also blamed her for Gavin leaving him. Having to repair two of his and Gavin's precious RKs had made him angry enough to visit her. She'd had a heart attack shortly after he'd stormed out of her home. Chloe had tried telling him that it wasn't his fault but had dropped the topic when he showed no signs of listening to her. Elijah stopped and stared out one of the floor to ceiling windows and wondered, not for the first time, if he should just send Chloe and her sisters somewhere far away from himself. He'd nearly gotten her killed during the revolution after all. Why should she want to remain by his side. His musing was brought to an end by the sound of a cough.

The death of his mother was something that Gavin had seen coming but never thought it’d become a reality. He loved his mother very much, don’t get him wrong, it nearly killed him when he ran away. He just didn’t think that  _ Elijah Kamski _ would be the one to host the funeral. The manor had cleared out finally, Chloe passive aggressively shoving them out. Gavin leaned against the doorway of the dining room, arms crossed over his chest, eyes watching Elijah closely. “Didn’t know that you and mom were this” he waved a hand around “close.”

Gavin was a breath of fresh air; blunt and angry as always. "We weren't close, it was my fault that she passed. The day before her death I had gone to her house to accuse her of not loving you enough to keep you home with us or at least runaway with you. I left her crying on her kitchen floor." Elijah saw no reason to sugarcoat the truth Gavin would learn the it either way. The young genius had never looked away from the window, though this was more to avoid letting Gavin see his anguished expression at his confession of guilt, Gavin had adored his mother and Elijah had murdered her.

Gavin frowned, listening to Elijah’s confessions. It pissed Gavin off. He approached the table and slammed his hands on the table, hoping to draw Elijah’s attention. “If you just kept my name out of your fucking mouth—“ Gavin cut himself off, ending his sentence with a frustrated groan. He sighed and folded his arms over his chest again, staring at the edge of the table by his hip. “Look, unless you injected her with something, you can’t have possibly started her heart attack. That’s her own doing. And,” he paused “I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner.”

"I went to her house angry, because I had just finished repairing two RKs. I told her that it was her fault that my best friend was gone." Elijah turned to look at his darling younger brother, Gavin looked tired and angry. "When was the last time you had a good night's sleep?" Elijah hugged himself to keep from reaching for his brother.

Gavin’s expression turned sour, almost like a snarl. “Best friend? Yeah, right,” he spat. He didn’t believe it. Not after that night. The night where he was stripped of most of his colored vision. Gavin’s eyes connected with Elijah. trying to ignore how tired  _ he _ looked. “Probably more recently than you,” was his answer.

Elijah wasn't looking for forgiveness for his many sins and chose to simply smile at Gavin's vitriolic tone. "You're probably correct about that. I've spent the last couple of months repairing Androids. I've recently offered my services as a coding consultant to the DPD and Chloe is planning our wedding, I'm sure that she's already asked you to at least be present. She does so adore you." Talking about the wedding made Elijah want to beg Gavin to take Chloe and her sisters far away from him. "Though perhaps it would be better if you were to convince her of my lack of worth, I did have Connor point a gun at her head during the revolution. What do you think Gavin? Am I a monster or something worse?" Elijah had turned away from his brother once more, though he tipped his head back in the direction of the shorter man.

Elijah is a consultant at the DPD? Why wasn’t he informed? Fowler of all people knew his history with one Mr. Elijah Kamski. The information of the wedding caused Gavin to relax a bit. Elijah has always had a fascination with their first android, he’s not surprised that they’re getting married. Though Gavin is unsure what that would make him when he helped create her and now she'll be his step-brother’s wife. Sister-in-law, but not. Gavin shook his head and focused on Elijah, moving around the table to sit in front of him. “Me and you both knew that was going to happen. That there’s a risk in the Kamski test. Chloe knew it too. She’s the most deviant of all of them, Eli. She knows more about androids than most because of us. She knew the risks and she knew the conditions. Yet she stayed. I left for my own reasons, Eli. Not because of mom.”

Elijah turned away from Gavin fully now and laughed, a fractured ugly laugh. Gavin had all but confirmed Elijah's worst fears, he had left because Elijah couldn't protect him. He'd lost the only person besides Chloe who understood him. "How can either of you even stand to look at me?" He spun around to look his brother dead in the eyes unaware of the fact that he had tears rolling down his cheeks. "You know I'm surprised that you didn't take advantage of the revolution to arrest me!" Elijah rarely got emotional to cry and oftentimes didn't even realize he was crying.

“Because it was an accident, Elijah!” Gavin snapped. He rarely ever used Elijah’s full name. Usually Eli or Kamski. But Elijah usually meant Gavin is serious. “It was an accident, Elijah. Me running away afterwards didn’t help the situation, I know that. And... I’m sorry. I should’ve at least told you.” Gavin kept his hands to himself, but he kept his eyes on his brother, hoping that he could comfort Elijah that way.

Elijah let himself slide down the window and curled in upon himself. "You still would have left. I tried to find you for a year before I was told to stop or I'd be arrested for stalking you." Elijah hated these moods, Gavin didn't need to feel sorry for him. What could he do.... "Ah! Come with me I want to show you the RK900, they're asleep right now, so you can't talk to them but they're absolutely amazing!" Elijah jumped up and grabbed Gavin's wrist intending to drag him to the makeshift hospital room that he'd set up for Nines, as Chloe and he'd affectionately dubbed the young Android.

Gavin’s hands curled into fists, remembering hearing about it between Amanda and Fowler. “Did you ever stop and think that maybe, just maybe, I didn’t want to be found? And yet you did! You gave me Si—“ Gavin cut himself off, simply saying his name brings up the lonely fact that he doesn’t have Simon anymore. That it’s just him and a couple of cats. Luckily Elijah moved the subject, wanting to show the latest model of their RK series, but something in him twists. Gavin tugged his arm back from Elijah, standing defensively. “I’ll pass, thanks. It doesn’t seem much of a Reed-Kamski project when I only helped make the first two. I’ll take your word for it, Eli. I just... can’t.”

That caused him to sway in place. "I see." Was there anything left to salvage from the once close relationship between them or was this a final goodbye? "Is there anything that I can help you with then?" Elijah could hear how flat and dead his voice sounded and for once he wanted someone to call him out on his defaulting to an emotionless asshole when he wanted to stop hurting.

Gavin approached Elijah, placing his hands on his shoulders. “Yes. You can start learning to live your own life instead of trying to feel sorry for yourself. You’re about to get married, Eli. This is the perfect opportunity to make yourself into the man that she sees you as,” Gavin requested. It hurt that all Elijah did during Gavin’s absence is go into a downward spiral. Elijah had all the resources to get his life back into shape.

"How? How do I right all of my wrongs, when you won't even let me apologize and right the wrong I regret the most." Elijah leaned just the slightest bit into Gavin's touch, knowing that it would end and Gavin would walk out of his life. He'd do anything for his brother, maybe he could convince Chloe to let him not sleep for a while so he could really fix Simon, Gavin might still hate him, but he wouldn't be alone. "At least look out for Connor and RK900 if they end up working with you? RK900 is the start of my penance."

Gavin hated that his brother looks so distraught. Someone he looked up to at one point in his life. He’s reluctant to let Elijah back into his life. He has some stable footing in, but adding Elijah into the mix? “Fine,” he found himself saying. “How do you propose apologizing to me? Without offering to replace my eyesight with robo-eyes.”

Elijah looked mildly horrified at the idea of even putting a scalpel near his precious little brother's face. "Why would you think that I could even stomach seeing you  _ bleed _ ! I was screaming when it was just a beaker exploding in your face! I think that I may have found out what happened to him, it's the reason I'm working with the DPD. Androids of all kinds are reporting a countdown time of some sort appearing on their HUD. I've sent out an isolation and freeze code patch as a temporary solution until I can eradicate the kill code."

Gavin touched one of the many scars on his eyebrow, remembering the blind pain in his eyes. The last time he could see the color red. Gavin swallowed hard. He can do this. It was an accident. “It was just a joke,” he offered. “Take me to the RK900, yeah? And then you can fill me in. It’ll be good for the case.”

Elijah became nearly giddy at Gavin's words. "It was a particularly poor one as I'm still traumatized by that moment. The code stinks of Zlako's work, but what I can't figure out is how he got ahold of an RK, because both of the RK's that I repaired have the kill code written into their activation date. I was able to freeze the counter and link it to a specific traumatic event in their lives, but I can't do anything more than that or I risk rewriting their personalities completely." Elijah led the way upstairs and quietly opened a door just enough for Gavin to be able to peek into the room.

Gavin smiled a little to himself at the sudden change in his older brother’s attitude. That’s the Elijah he knows and loves. Electric, high strung, buzzing with life, scientist. He followed Elijah, listening and mentally noting anything of importance. “You can’t isolate and copy it? Or copy then isolate?” The ease of androids is that their coding is a simple computer program. But the coding for the RK line is a modified computer program. A program only understandable by Elijah and Gavin. So for someone to be able to alter the RK’s like this is a rather dangerous man that needs to be taken care of. Gavin peered into the room, taking in as much as he can of the surroundings before landing on the RK900.

"No, I can't, it's hard written into the base code of the affected Androids,and I nearly killed Nines trying to deactivate it. They really are something aren't they?" The RK900 lay on the bed with the covers drawn up to his waist, bare chested at the moment. Dark chocolate brown hair streaked through with silver and white halos the strong, masculine features of the Android's face. "The only thing not to spec on them now is the hyper masculine look, but I can't change that without risking psychological harm."

“But we didn’t put it there. And I wouldn’t know why Cyberlife would write such a horrible virus in the main code so that rules them out too. You say Zlako, it’s as good a start as any.” Gavin couldn’t stop staring at the RK900. He’s only seen the RK800, Connor, and the first couple RK. It’s an interesting take that the newest additions are so similar. The white streaks complement the pale skin. “I dunno, Eli. They seem rather pretty to me,” Gavin teased, finally forcing himself away from the cracked open door.

"I fixed what could, unfortunately I still don't know the extent of their trauma. Chloe and I found them being carried out of one of the recycling centers by RK800-60. The pair are scarily close, but even then they're completely platonic. The reason why I think Cyberlife is involved is because the only thing we do know is that the ones who attacked Nines were ex-Cyberlife technicians. They tried to tear the poor thing apart." Elijah gently closed the door again and leaned against the wall. "How're you and Connor getting along? I'm sure that you're at least part of the reason for his deviation."

“RK800-60?” Gavin echoed, frowning. The RK line is supposed to be one of a kind. No mass production. What the Hell happened during Gavin’s absence? Gavin leaned against the opposite wall of Elijah’s. He crossed his arms over his chest, a guilty look on his face. “I punched him. He punched me back. And bruised my ribs and my tailbone. We haven’t really talked since. We’ve had a case or two together, but he works with Anderson.”

"He knocked you on your ass and now you have a crush on him." Elijah translated, "Why am I not surprised. Sixty is the tenth iteration of the RK800 line. I was just as shocked as you to find out that they tried to reproduce the RK800's code ten times. You'll be happy to know that your rolling tick for the personality code still works when someone tries to reproduce an exact replica of any one RK code." Elijah scrubbed his face tiredly. "I need coffee, do you want some?"

Gavin’s face lit up red, grumbling to himself in embarrassment. He always did have a thing for people who can show him his place. It’s equal footing in Gavin’s eyes. “A forever changing personality code. You could never recreate it, even if you tried. Each snapshot is different each time,” Gavin recited. He busted his ass putting that code together. The first of many all-nighters. Good to know that it’s working. “Fuck yes. You read my mind. Coffee sounds awesome.”

Elijah led the way to a surprisingly cozy kitchen, creams and browns and sunny yellows gave the room a homeyer feel than the more public spaces of the house. "Chloe's thinking about repainting the rest of the house to match or we may just leave the house to her sisters to run a boarding school out of and move closer to Carl's house. What do you think about it? What kind of coffee do you drink? I have a Krüeig so just choose what you'd like. Have you talked to Carl or Markus yet? Carl's been asking about you. Also why does Sixty want to bully you so badly?" Elijah knew that he was word vomiting on Gavin, but he was tired and had been dealing with Gavin's relatives all day. For all of his love for Gavin, Elijah despised his brother's extended family.

Gavin has dealt for many years Elijah’s word vomit. He’ll go on and on and on without any break to breathe or for an answer. When it comes to Elijah, he’s like a train. “The moving situation, that’s up to you. I never saw you as a home-y type though. It’s a good look on you. I’ll take the sweetest option you have for coffee.” Gavin faltered, picking at a scab on his hand from a recent case. The returning guilty look says it all in the sudden stop in his words. “I... I haven’t spoken to Carl since I dropped Markus off. And who the fuck is Sixty?” Gavin asked, rubbing the back of his neck. He felt exhausted and they’ve barely done any work, hopefully the coffee will help.

"I'm not surprised that you don't know him, Sixty hardly ever leaves Nines' side, he's the RK800-60 that I mentioned earlier. Triple chocolate pumpkin spiced latte with chocolate chips and sugar?" Elijah is fixing himself the same thing right at that moment. "You should, he misses you, you were always his favorite." The last words are honest in their intent but joking in their delivery. "Sixty's just a sweetheart lacking his social module. You have the esteemed lieutenant Anderson to thank for that, even though there are a hundred other ways to incapacitate an Android without  _ shooting them in the head _ ! Stupido vecchio scontroso. Sparando a uno dei miei cari figli!" Elijah devolved into muttered Italian at the end of his complaint.

Gavin gave a thumbs up on the order that Elijah gave off. Gavin always had a sweet tooth, but it’ll be his demise. He wrapped his arms around his pudgy middle. “Hardly. I was an ass through and through. Markus was perfect for him. And I think we have a different definition of ‘sweetheart.’” Gavin watched as Elijah went off on a swearing storm, rolling his eyes. “You better watch your mouth, fratello. I work with the man.” Gavin isn’t Italian by blood, no, far from it. But he’s picked up Italian from living with Elijah and Mr. Kamski. Leaving Gavin with English, Spanish, and Italian in his head.

Elijah slid the finished coffee over to his brother and waved a hand at the warning. "Yes and he was married to my mentor. I had to make several changes to Nine's appearance so that they didn't resemble an adult Cole." Elijah had been furious that Cyberlife would be so cruel to the older man. "Is there any way that I could bring legal charges against Cyberlife for stealing the RK technology from me?" Elijah finally finished making his own coffee and turned to fully face his brother.

Gavin took the coffee, blowing on it to cool it down before sipping at it. Fuck, Elijah makes good coffee. The mention of Cole makes Gavin feel uneasy, remembering their fight at the precinct. “Yeah, right...” he agreed quietly. Gavin tapped his fingers against the countertop, raising his eyes to meet Elijah’s. “Well did you patent the technology like I kept bugging you to do? We could go for copyright infringement. Not for all of the androids, obviously. Just the RK line.”

"Yes, I patented both the technology and the code. Though the code patent is filed jointly in both our names. The patents are good for the next hundred years and I've got them set to auto renew. But how would copyright law affect the fact that they're now considered people? These are our children Gavin, I don't want anyone to think that they can go after the Androids on the basis that  _ I _ don't think they're people. But Cyberlife took everything from me that night. I was days from sending Connor to help you and lieutenant Anderson and months from sending Nines to follow. They had that jackal Perkins come raid my house when I was attending one of Carl's exhibitions with Chloe. Only Cleo and Lira were home. Lira was half dead when we got home and Connor and Nines were missing." Elijah had to stop speaking or he risked dissolving into tears again.

“It might be a matter where we go to the big man himself: Markus. He seems to speak for everyone,” Gavin suggested, staring at his hands as he wrapped his head around the situation. Many people lost many other people too that night. Cole, Simon... Gavin rubbed at his face, anger boiling under his skin. The one night he doesn’t lock his door is the one he regrets most. “And Cole died on an operating table and Simon was taken from me,” he echoed his thoughts. He took a moment to himself, sipping his coffee and patting his jacket pockets for his cigarettes. “I’m going out to smoke. I’ll think of something, Eli.” Gavin felt like he owed this much to Elijah, for leaving him in the first place, for starting something and leaving before it was even close to being finished. Gavin excused himself from the kitchen, finding his way to the back before pulling out his cigarettes.

Elijah watched his brother go and wondered when the smoking habit began. He himself had quit the habit when Chloe had started screaming and crying and nearly self-destructing when she'd see him with a lit cigarette. Perhaps he'd run into Markus at Carl's house sometime. The Android Leader had been avoiding his calls since Simon had been repaired. Elijah didn't blame him for it either. It was one thing to nearly lose someone to your own decisions but being unable to help them because telling them the truth would literally kill them had to be a heavy burden for anyone.

Gavin had gone through two cigarettes by the time he made it back in, looked more tired but more relaxed. He couldn’t say the same for his head. He looked to his coffee, sighing as he realized it was cold before sitting down. He stunk of nicotine. “Chloe hit me with a shoe,” Gavin finally said. “She caught me outside.”

"Was she upstairs? Because she didn't come through the kitchen. I quit when she almost self-destructed because she caught me smoking out back." Elijah passed his brother a fresh coffee. "What's brewing in that genius brain of yours little brother? I can practically hear you thinking." Elijah loved referring to Gavin as the genius of the two of them because Gavin had really done the hard work regarding the RK line, hence it was the  _ Reed-Kamski _ project.

Gavin grimaced as he rubbed the sore spot on top of his head. “Yeah. Came out of fucking no where.” He took the new coffee with a small nod of his head. “It’s... It’s nothing important. Don’t need you worrying about me more than you have to.” Gavin cracked a smile, trying to be light about it.

"I'm your older brother Gavin, I'm going to worry regardless of whether you tell me or not. If you tell me what's bugging you, then maybe that worry can be turned to something productive." Elijah walked over to the fridge and pulled out a plate of papa rellenas. Holding it up for Gavin to see he asked,"Hungry? I couldn't stomach the thought of our mother's relatives thinking that I was human so I haven't eaten anything all day."

Gavin rolled his eyes. He liked to drown himself work just like Elijah. “And I’m going to always worry about you. Because you’re my older brother I know you’re going to push yourself,” he said gently. Elijah is in constant motion, more than Gavin is. This is why they both never really got on board with Cyberlife. Too constraining, bound by rules and other people. Gavin’s eyes lit up at the sight of the Cuban dish. “Fucking starving. I don’t remember the last time I ate.” Gavin reached for the plate, already eager to eat one.

Elijah pulled the plate out of reach and gave Gavin a scandalized look. "Paws off! They're still cold Idiota! Let me throw them in the toaster oven for a minute then you can gorge yourself Porcellino!" Elijah laughed and pulled some struffoli out as well and passed it to Gavin to pacify his brother until the Papas were ready. "I'll have you know that these are treats in this house."

Gavin grumbled and picked at the struffoli while he waited for the papas. As much as he’s grown to dislike struffoli, he’s kinda missed it. It reminds him of Elijah, back when they worked together. “It’s all a treat to me. I don’t remember the last time I’ve had either of this shit. Let alone the last time I even used my kitchen beyond heating up leftover carry out.”

That surprised Elijah, the Gavin that he remembered loved cooking. The man had been a tyrant in the kitchen. "Do you not like cooking anymore?" Elijah asked in a small voice as he prepared the Cuban dish that he'd cooked during a fit of depression and missing his brother.

Gavin faltered, staring at a piece of struffoli in his hand. “I...” He cleared his throat. He didn’t even need to hear what Elijah said to understand the sad tone behind it. Elijah’s usual stark blue and white contrast had turned murky. “Eli, Simon is gone. My Simon was taken from me the night Cole had died and that your labs were raided. He was the last person I ever taught these recipes to. After his disappearance everything just went downhill...”

Of course Gavin wouldn't want to cook anymore. "Is there nothing that Cyberlife hasn't taken from us?" Elijah pulled the papas out of the toaster oven, burning his fingers in the process. After placing the plate in front of Gavin he snagged a couple and left the rest for Gavin to have. "They stressed Amanda out so badly that it killed her. I had to call her husband and tell him that she died shortly after giving birth to and then naming their son." He began munching viciously on his papas.

Gavin raised his head from his hands at the arrival of the papas, snagging one immediately before the plate even landed in front of him. He was quiet for a moment before quickly snapping his head to Elijah. “Wait, Amanda?”

"Yes Amanda. The mentor I always talk about. I have a picture of us together in the entry hall, unless Chloe moved it. Why do you ask?" Elijah knew that he'd asked Amanda to help him look for Gavin but he always thought she'd ignored his plea. It had been the only time that he'd been angry with his mentor.

Gavin stood up suddenly, head confused. Front entry hallway. “You sent someone to look after me? What the fuck Eli?” Gavin spat, brain finally catching up and making connections. No wonder she gave him to Fowler so quickly. He was a chore.

"What are you talking about? Yes I asked for her help to look for you but she told me no! And then two months later I got a call from your captain telling me that if I continued to try and find you that I'd be arrested for stalking and harassing you." Elijah was confused had Amanda actually looked for Gavin?

“That’s because I was living with him, dipshit! After living for a few months with Amanda, she handed me off to him after she discovered she was pregnant. And then Fowler being head of the DPD I figured he could do something because I didn’t want to be found, Eli!” Why couldn’t he get it through Elijah’s head that it was his decision to leave. His reasons, his life. Gavin should have told Elijah he was leaving, but Elijah would’ve tried to stop him. “Mr. Kamski was the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. I was perfectly fine going father-less! I didn’t ask for this fucking life and I’m sorry I got you wrapped up in my fucking mess.” Gavin couldn’t explain the sudden anger. It isn’t towards Elijah, not by a long shot. It’s the first emotion he’s felt in several months, the last time was when he was getting his ass handed by Connor. Gavin’s hands were shaking and he resisted the urge to destroy anything in Elijah’s house. But it only made them shake more.

Elijah couldn't even begin to unwrap what Gavin had told him. The only thing that he could concentrate on was how badly Gavin's hands were shaking. Making a split second decision he grabbed Gavin's arm and dragged him into the office, it was the only room in the house where everything in it was replaceable. "Here, it's all replaceable. I don't care what you do, just don't turn that emotion in on yourself. It'll be like poison slowly killing you." Elijah hoped that this was enough for the moment, he'd show Gavin the gym when he was calm.

Gavin fought it at first, yelling at Elijah about how he should know better about pulling him around like this. His critiques were put on silent as he was pushed into the office. It looked untouched, barely used now with the amount of technology they have. “Fucking dammit!” Gavin groaned, finally giving in and starting off by pulling books off of shelves and throwing it at the desk across the room haphazardly.

Elijah watched Gavin start throwing books across the room. He was waiting for the screaming to start. Gavin's temper was explosive and all consuming when he finally let go. His brother just needed a push. "Is that all you're going to do? I thought you were angry. I thought you wanted to destroy shit! Do you want to drown in your self-doubt and self-hatred!" Elijah had grabbed one glass paperweight from the shelf and then flung it at the wall farthest from Gavin. The shattering noise was strangely satisfying.

Gavin did. He wanted to mope around and feel numb. That’s what he’s been doing since Simon has been gone. But the satisfying breaking of the glass got him going. The more he thought about the situation, the angrier he got. It’s his fault for not telling Elijah his plan of running away, it’s his fault that he told Simon he’d lock the doors that night, it’s his fault. That’s all he heard. His fault. Gavin yelled in anger as he swept shit off the desk, kicking in a drawer before he swept his eyes around the room for his next target. Gavin started to rant to himself, jumping from one topic to the next. Most of it was in english, some in spanish, and few rants in Italian. Sometimes all three. Gavin’s words and thoughts tend not to catch up to his mouth. He tore the bookshelves down and cracked the glass of the big window. By the end of Gavin’s rampage, he was shaking from overexertion and his tears. Gavin crumpled to the ground in the middle of it all, all energy finally leaving his already exhausted body. Gavin’s mind was blank for the moment. Finally.

Elijah watched it all with a single bead of blood rolled down his cheek from one of the glass trinkets exploding against the wall next to him. When Gavin collapsed in the middle of the room he stumbled, on shaking legs, over to his precious little brother and collapsed next to him and dragged Gavin into his arms. Practically dragging him into his lap, Elijah sat there and held his brother as Gavin shook. Elijah quietly began singing:

"Close your eyes, I know what you see

The darkness is high, and you're in ten feet deep

But we've survived more terrible monsters than sleep

And you know I will be here to tell you to breathe..."

Gavin held onto Elijah tightly, seemingly staring off into space as he did so. He could hear his heart in his ears and see the overwhelming colors of his own voice. It’s the only thing that drives him crazy. He hates the tones of his voice. Loud and forever in his face. Gavin pressed his face into Elijah’s shoulders, squeezing his eyes shut as he listened to his older brother. He relaxed, eyes getting heavy. “Why are you always dealing with my mess?” Gavin mumbled, almost slurring his words a little in exhaustion.

"Because I want to, because I'm your big brother. Because I have never stopped caring about my stubborn, fierce, proud, genius baby brother. I will never abandon you. Let me tell you a secret, I was days away from poisoning the old bastard for his behavior towards you when you left." Elijah hadn't even told Chloe about his plot to murder his father.

Gavin didn’t deserve someone like Elijah. Elijah was so fiercely protective that Gavin has a hard time wrapping his head around it sometimes. Even over a man that Gavin thought Elijah believed to be family. Elijah was going to kill Mr. Kamski for  _ him _ . “I want to sleep,” Gavin admitted instead of answering. It’s something that he’d have to process, but he knew that he wouldn’t love his brother any less.

"You have a room here, for as long as you need." Even as Elijah said that he was hefting his brother up into his arms and standing up to bring his adorable baby brother to the room he and Chloe had prepared for Gavin years ago. "You will never have to be alone as long as I'm alive and breathing baby brother."

Gavin held onto Elijah tightly, staring off at the mess of the office as Elijah carried him off. What a mess. He felt bad, he shouldn’t have destroyed it like he did. He looked at his knuckles, the blood already dried but the bruising still fresh and swollen. Why does Elijah have to be so sentimental? Gavin doesn’t respond, silent for the rest of the walk to his guest bedroom. He missed Simon. It all reminded him of Simon.


End file.
